AEW star Kyle O’Reilly recently announced on Instagram the sad news of his father’s passing. Rick Greenwood, who was 76 years old, died on Friday, March 27th.
O’Reilly wrote, “My father, Rick Greenwood was the kindest man around. He passed peacefully March 27, 2026 surrounded by loved ones listening to his favorite Pink Floyd album.
He was born on Valentine’s Day in 1952 and grew up in Penticton, BC a sickly child with 6 siblings. They all had paper routes and worked the cherry orchard, learning the value of hard work.
Later they moved to East Vancouver, and as a teenager Rick entered an apprenticeship program becoming a cabinet maker by trade and eventually a master craftsman. There was no limit to Rick’s ability to take something out of the imagination and use wood to craft it with his bare hands.
He met his spouse and my mother, Janie McLoughlin in 1975 and to know they are now reunited beyond this earthly realm gives great comfort to myself and my family.
Rick became a father in 1982 when my sister Kelli was born and I came around in ‘87. Rick was a devoted father and ran his own business building staircases and handrails, he also built the cribs and the house that his children lived in.
Rick later became a shipwright for BC Ferries where he ran maintenance and refits on an entire fleet of ships, adding his perfected handiwork in the most unlikely places gone unnoticed by the daily passenger, but Rick made sure every job was meticulous and beautiful. He was a true artist.
When we look around his home now we see his fingerprints everywhere. From the dinner table we shared memories as a family to fine china cabinets to the cedar strip canoes and kayaks he built with his brother, Steve when I was a kid.
The greatest lesson he taught me was that “if you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life,” and Dad worked relentlessly hard simply because that’s what he loved to do. It gave me the courage to pursue a seemingly impossible dream in the name of love.
Lastly, we are so pleased to see how many messages came from people who knew my Dad saying what a kind and gentle soul he was. I’m so proud that in a world full of malice and hatred, Rick always chose to be kind. Be kind and create; must’ve been his mantra.”
O’Reilly has not appeared on television since the AEW Christmas Collision in December, due to a bulging disc in his neck and a fractured arm. There is currently no update on when he might return, but more information will be provided as it becomes available.
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